Answered questions

First of all, I would like to thank every employee of your company for high-quality products you manufacture for the country. Maintaining high standards (quality standards, in this case) is currently of uttermost importance.

I am 30 now, and as far as I remember, my family has always been buying beverages under your trademark. Thank you again for the undoubtedly high quality and my special thanks to you for the Kazkovyi Kliuchyk, which is simply incredible! I have two questions for the company employees:

1) I feel that your beverages have lately become less carbonated. What is the reason to that?

2) Where can I buy you products in Brovary, the Region of Kyiv, as now I have to transport them from Zhytomyr which is not always convenient?

Along with your reply at my e-mail, please post this reply on your site as well for other people to see it. Maybe, someone will find it useful.

Thank you for your reply.

With kind regards and best wishes, Iurii.

Chief Technologist Galina Treyko

Logistics Manager Alina Dzhabbarova

We are delighted to hear this! 🙂

Iurii, thank you for your high appreciation of our modest work.

As for our beverages becoming less carbonated, could you provide more precise information: when did you notice that effect, how frequently is it encountered and in what beverages? This will help us to analyse and detect the reasons. It is highly probable however that your taste did not betray you provided that the changes happened over the previous two years. The reason is that over this period, pursuing the “product naturalisation” policy, we removed citric acid from our beverages and replaced it with concentrated natural lime juice. After this change, we were surprised to notice that the taste of our beverages became softer although carbonation remained unchanged (0.48-0.50%). We can only assume that the lime juice neutralizes the “aggressiveness” of carbonated beverages making them more subtle.

However, we would be grateful for details, which is important to us.

Considering the possibility to buy Karavan products in Brovary. Unfortunately, we do not have an exclusive partner in the town of Brovary. However, Antyp LLC (Kyiv) supplies Karavan products to Brovary, and you can buy them in supermarkets of the Fora retail chain:

• Kyivska Street, 92;

• Kutuzova Street, 20/2;

• Nezalezhnosti Street, 7;

• Chkalova Street, 12;

• Shevchenko Street, 10v,

а також «Hreid market» Chornovola, 11.

With thanks and best wishes.

Internet question

21.04.2016

The labels on plastic bottles always contain information on the type of plastic used to make the bottle. And this information is very important. However, you do not provide it. Why?

Chief Technologist Galina Treyko

Dear customer, thank you for your question.

In Ukraine, the signs and symbols on containers are regulated by the standard DSTU ISO 780-2001 Packaging. Pictorial Marking for Handling of Goods. Please notice the following mark on the bottom of the bottle:

This is the mark of recyclable plastic. This mark is put on all types of polymer packaging. Plastic packaging is divided into 7 types of plastic and a digital symbol exists for each one. This is put by the manufacturer to inform about the type of material and its recyclability as well as to facilitate sorting before recycling and reusing the plastic. The digit denoting the plastic type is inside the triangle. The abbreviation, i.e. the letters under the triangle, denotes the material type. The triangle contains the plastic type code: 1 PET, 1 PETE means polyethylene terephthalate which is usually used for carbonated beverages and water.

The bottom of the bottle also contains the sign Made of Nontoxic Material, Suitable for Food Contact:

It is very nice to see that the customers are interested not only in the quality of products but in the quality of packaging as well.

Best wishes to you.

Internet question

05.11.2015

Good morning. My name is Illia (the city of Chernivtsi). I have bought Karavan water in 6-liter bottles for the third time over the last few months, and it is just horrible! It tastes like tap water, and the electric kettle, after boiling this water, is covered with unusual white scale (I can even send you a photo). The water surface is covered with flakes of scale. I swear this does not happen even if ordinary tap water is used! At first, I thought something was wrong with the kettle or that lot of water was bad, but when this repeats for the third time over several months, it turns into a pattern. Actually, this is why I decided to write to you. Please sort this issue out. The water was bought in Chernivtsi, in a shop in Haharina Street.
P.S. I usually buy water on tap but sometimes I miss the truck and in those instances, I purchase water in big bottles. Please address this issue. You probably have some filter problems, or the shop is selling counterfeit water, or is this what the water should be, or do I miss something?

Director Grygorii Ushakov

Dear Illia!
Thank you for your letter. Your sincerity is apparent.
And although we have received similar messages before and our replies were posted on our web-site on 29.07.13 and 25.08.2011, we would still like to clear out certain aspects of your particular message.

Taste is an individual matter. In our arbitrary opinion, Karavan water has a balanced and pleasant natural taste. We try to preserve everything made by Nature in our water, removing only iron and using sand and charcoal filters for water treatment. We believe it does not need any additional «improvements». However, if you do not like this taste, you need to choose another water trademark.

I do not believe the shop sells counterfeit water. Please take precautions buying water on tap. Indeed, this water leaves no sediment because it is artificially softened. If reverse osmosis is used, the water loses its natural beneficent characteristics. When the ion-exchange method is used, where calcium and magnesium ions are replaced with sodium ions, the acceptable sodium content in the water is exceeded two or three times, according to the European legislation. And this may be harmful to human health.

As for the water boiling using electric kettles: any kettle is in fact designed to «cook» water. As a result, mineral salts precipitate and all other beneficent characteristics of water disappear. Oriental tea ceremonies prescribe that water heating should be stopped before large bubbles appear, during so-called white stage (intensive white hissing). This is a way to keep water «living» and to preserve its natural taste, composition and structure, and tea or coffee made at 90-95°С, assume an especially good taste.
But, of course, it is up to you to decide.

With thanks and best wishes.

Internet question

16.06.2015

Dear Sirs! I very much like your products, as well as the wide choice of tasty sweet beverages and good design. I will be happy if you create water with a new watermelon flavour. I believe this will ensure further improvement of your image and increased consumption of this beverage. Thank you for your attention. Please reply if this is possible.

New Product Development Technologist Sofia Ivanivna Simakovych

Greetings!

Thank you for your appreciation of our work.

Our experience proves that the watermelon flavour will not be as naturally appreciated in a carbonated beverage as it is in a fresh watermelon. Watermelons have no rich flavours or essential oils and we would not like to resort to chemicals. Moreover, other manufacturers tried to make a similar beverage using artificial flavourings but to no positive result. Therefore, we will abstain from this for the time being.

Thank you for your letter again, we are always open for communication.

Internet question

12.06.2015

Are you planning to sell water in two-litre and one-litre bottles?

Production Manager Natalia Ischenko

Dear consumer!

At the moment we are not, but we do not rule out a possibility to sell our products in containers of different size.

By the way, we sell soft beverages in 0.5 l and 1.5 l bottles and we offer artesian water in 6 l bottles as well.

Internet question

21.05.2015

Please tell if you are exporting your products and if yes, to which countries. Or are you operating within Ukraine only?

Logistics Manager Alina Dzhabbarova

Dear consumer!

Thank you for your question.

Karavan products are exported to Germany since October 2001.

Also, there were one-off shipments to Moldova in 2001 and to Israel and Spain in 2010.

We are ready to cooperate with any country.

Internet question

15.04.2015

Recently I have been noticing that stores sell your beverages after their expiration date. Sometimes the gap is as big as 2 months and more. It is especially common for your 0,5 lt bottles. The sales staff justifies this practice by saying that the beverages were delivered after their expiration date, that they don’t know what to do with them, that they cannot drink them themselves, etc. It is hard to believe that such a company as Panda cannot influence this situation and limits itself to the role of a passive observer! About 30 to 50% of all the retailers sell your expired beverages at a discount. You can buy a 0,5 lt bottle for as little as 1 UAH. Maybe you should do something about changing this practice because I forbid my children to buy your sodas even though I have been drinking them most of my life.

We could only add that the most effective way to deal with this illegal situation is to denounce the retailer. You need to submit the receipts and the expired beverage to your local Consumer Rights Department division. You also have a right to return the expired product.

Here are the legal guidelines:
Law on Food Safety and Quality: article 36, paragraph 2, point 7 prohibits the sale of the expired food items.
Low on the Consumer Rights: article 23 imposes a penalty for the sale of the expired goods. The penalty amounts to 200% of the cost of the entire expired goods batch.

The best way to fight this deplorable practice is never to buy the expired goods regardless of the price or circumstances.

Internet question

03.04.2015

Please explain how the water produced near the Vinnytsia’s largest former chemical plant can be clean.

Director Grygorii Ushakov

Thank you for your question!

It is simple. Let us learn the facts. The map shows where the former chemical plant, the company «Panda», forest zone, water pipeline, artesian boreholes and the officially approved water intake sanitary zone are located.

In the language of experts it sounds like this: «Drinking groundwater in the aquifer of Stryzhavka Bugski field (this is the name of our water supply field) is contained in the fractured granite zone. The water is sufficiently protected from any bacterial and chemical contamination by water-impermeable rocks (the capacity is 12.5 – 22.0 m. This estimated value indicates high filtration power). The former chemical plant’s effect on the hydro-geological characteristics of the underground water can be excluded because the groundwater from the area comes to the surface of the aquifer, or to the upper strata of the rivers, outside of the Stryzhavka Bugski field. It flows into the Southern Bugh river. Industrial plants are located beyond the field’s protected sanitary zone. Their location meets the regulatory groundwater exploitation requirements. Constant monitoring of the groundwater quality ensures consistency of the groundwater bacteriological and chemical characteristics.»

However, if you are still not convinced, there is a simpler solution. You can refer to any local laboratory accredited by the Consumer Rights Department, by the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service or others. It will cost you little to get an unbiased analysis which will help you ascertain the integrity of our statements.

Internet question

22.08.2014

Good morning, I would like to ask why you ceased the production of the old form of Karavan Ananasovyi.

New Product Development Technologist Sofia Ivanivna Simakovych

Dear consumer!

As far as we understand that by the old form you mean the beverage before the upgrade.If this is the case, this was done to make the beverage more natural, i.e. to give it a natural pineapple taste and flavour by using natural components.

All our beverages have been subject to this upgrade lately. When we turned to the Ananasovyi beverage, we altered its composition radically:

• we removed citric and ascorbic acids and replaced them with concentrated lime juice;• we removed the artificial colour (beta carotene) and replaced it with natural herbal safflor extract;• the wood tar glycerine ether stabilizer, the very name of which is uninviting, is also being removed and replaced with natural citrus flavouring (citric pectin);• and we enriched all this by concentrated natural pineapple juice.

As a result, we believe we have obtained a pleasant, lifelike and actually pineapple beverage.Whether you like it or not is up to you to decide.

Internet question

28.05.2014

I have purchased Karavan Krem-Soda carbonated beverage in Mareman shop in Illinetskyi District. The beverage was expired, of light colour and smelled of nothing in common with Krem-Soda.

Logistics Manager Alina Dzhabbarova

Dear consumer!

Thank you for your letter. We will do our best at least to avoid similar situations in the future.

Panda manufacturing enterprise has no finished goods storage and works only to the orders of its trading partners. As a result, only fresh products are sold (see our web-site for terms). The trade partners assume any further responsibility as to storage and timely sales of the products, and unfortunately (or fortunately) we cannot directly influence the. At the same time, the products of TM Karavan, as you know, contain no preservatives and are made of natural components only. Therefore, they have short shelf life and are very sensitive to the storage conditions and period.

We hope that each buyer will protect his (her) own interests and health and will assess the product appearance in the shop, read the label to find out the composition, terms of storage and expiry date and, based on all this, will make his (her) choice. Even if these facts are found back at home, after the purchase, the consumer has the right to return substandard goods to the retail point and be refunded, making thereby the relevant organisation liable. This is the right of any customer. We advise to use it wherever possible to protect yourself from similar occurrences and to provide incentives for the shops to adhere to food storage terms.

Internet question

03.09.2013

Iurii
Dear Sirs, I do not mean to offend the TM owners or consumers who like these products but, to my “taste”, the price matches the quality, or shall I say the quality matches the price. I mean the quality of flavour. Unfortunately, my family (including myself) and many people I know do not like the beverages of TM Karavan, even though the labels say that every ingredient is natural and the price is very attractive. Many beverages are over-flavoured, and the flavour of some of them (e.g. Bianca) stays even after washing up (and believe me, I wash up very diligently). And if we take the beneficence and naturality of sweet carbonated beverages in general, one can hardly speak of any beneficence at all, no matter how natural the ingredients are. Nor it is acceptable to speak about a “live” product with a shelf life of several months.
I apologise for this “fly in the ointment” but even a negative opinion has its right for existence.

Director Grygorii Ushakov

Dear Iurii!

Of course, negative opinions have a right to exist. They bring along a chance to improve the situation which is positive. Thank you for that sincerely. Your issues are broad and have a philosophic connotation about them. Let us deal with them in turn.

You are right, the beverages are over-flavoured. And we are already working on this. Recently we have reduced the intensity of taste and flavour of Limonad, Marsan, and Ananasovyi beverages. We are now working on Dvyzhok and we will think about Bianca and other beverages. We will be in search for harmony.

However, the flavour itself is not something alien to human beings as any fruit with taste and odour will have it. Try, for example, to remove the smell of lemon juice or Isabella grapes from your dishes.

As for the product being «live», this is more of a metaphor which means the product is free of harmful synthetic components and «deadly» preservatives. These components are actually the reason for this not particularly good reputation of sweet carbonated beverages as a product. At the same time, in the real life, this product exists and people consume it and like it (e.g. my children). Why then should it not be made suitable for consumption?

If this is interesting, the painstaking work of our experts freed Karavan products of a number of components. They are listed below:
• preservative (sodium benzoate);
• synthetic and nature-identical flavourings;
• carbon dioxide of chemical origin;
• propylene glycol as a flavouring carrying agent;
• excessive sodium being a result of water softening for beverages;
• synthetic colours;
• synthetic stabilisers.

By now we have replaced citric acid with lemon and lime juice in Dvyzhok, Delishes, Lymonad, Marsan and Ananasovyi beverages that resulted in greater total juice content. Upgraded Krem Soda, Diushes, Karavan Kola and Dzvinochok beverages containing lemon juice instead of citric acid are expected soon.

Of course, it is up to you to decide whether as a result of all this our beverages have become more friendly for human health and whether their quality corresponds to their price.

With kind regards and best wishes.

Internet question

29.08.2013

The message is for the attention of the owners of the manufacturing establishment – the KARAVAN brand trademark.
My family and I have been drinking your water for 3 years already, and I can say only one thing, it is really the water of life!!!
Thank you very much for your taking care of us, your customers!
The prices of your products are so low that I’m worried about your future. It is kind of a paradox – all over the world high-quality products are much more expensive than low-quality products, and with you, it is exactly the opposite. If I weren’t familiar with your products, I wouldn’t believe any stories about their natural origin and natural additives.
I think you should level the prices up, BUT NOT TOO HIGH! Yours faithfully with best regards, Ihor.

Director Grygorii Ushakov

We understand the risks of mistrust to the quality which arise in the case of low prices. Our marketing specialists, when we had them), were assuring us for a long time that it was necessary to keep the prices high for the consumer to believe in product quality. Though, personally I wouldn’t like to be assured of quality in such a way.

Therefore, at a certain stage of our work, we eliminated excess costs including marketing and concentrated on product quality. This allowed us to reduce the prices to the level that was affordable for any customer. Now in the case of low prices, there is a probability that a bigger number of customers (and the income level of a wide range of the population is comparatively low) will be able to afford to enjoy a really natural and «live» product.

Internet question

30.07.2013

Dear Sirs! Please, tell us why the prices of your enterprise’s products are so low. In my day I worked at a similar enterprise, where carbonated beverages were produced using sweeteners (aspartame, saccharin etc.), and so the prices were relatively equal, but Karavan products are made using sugar – what’s the catch or is it another marketing mix? Could you simply explain to a common customer if your products are of a lower or superior quality than, for example, other brands on the Ukrainian beverage market? Thank you.

Production Manager Natalia Ischenko

Thank you for your questions. I will try to answer each of them.

The main price components are raw materials + overhead costs (energy supply, salary etc.). Thanks to the reduction of some types of activity and the whole processes which don’t create assets (merchandising, marketing, commerce, warehousing, administration etc.), within the last 2 years we have managed to reduce the costs significantly, which allowed reducing the prices by 18% on the average. Thus we improve the quality of our products (we use natural flavours and natural carbonic acid; we replace citric acid with lemon juice).

As for sugar, since the first day of manufacture of TM Karavan products (1995) ONLY SUGAR has been used and the options of price reduction, due to use to aspartame, saccharin etc., hasn’t even been considered.

As for the information on the beverage formulation, I want to once again point out the fact that the legislation carefully regulates (and the relevant bodies control) the completeness, reliability and ways of the information statement on the label.

We produce the product which currently has no equivalents in the market price/quality ratio, and the choice it is up to you.

We invite you to visit our entity and see the whole production process.

Internet question

29.07.2013

After boiling the artesian water a lot of white residue is flocculated in the form of small sand. What is it?!! Is it dangerous to health?

Chief Technologist Halina Treyko

Thank you for your question, dear consumer.

It is a residue of natural mineral salts of calcium and magnesium hydrocarbonates which are neutral to health.

As water is a good solvent, all natural waters are solutions of different mineral and organic compounds. Natural water is a unique cocktail of microelements necessary for the human body. Therefore we seek to retain the initial structure and taste of water in order not to prevent the interaction of Nature with our body. The water stripped off of all beneficent microelements doesn’t leave any residue, but it isn’t healthy.

And for hot drink preparation we use the method of all tea gurus. Water is brought only to the second boiling point (whitening from bubbles). Tea or coffee made with such water has «live» taste, aroma and composition.

Try it!

Best of health.

Internet question

24.07.2013

Roman
Dear Sirs! Is orthophosphoric acid an ingredient of your products?
I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Chief Technologist Halina Treyko

Good afternoon, Roman!

Thank you for your good question.

Indeed, according to numerous research, food antioxidant E338, that is orthophosphoric acid, which is usually a component of cola-like beverages, has undesirable side effects. Taking it into account, in the case of development of the composition of the Karavan Kola beverage, we deliberately excluded from its mix not only orthophosphoric acid but also caffeine, which we also consider not to be very beneficent, particularly for children.

Nevertheless, your question may be proof of mistrust to the information on the labels whereon the contents of beverages are stated. Unfortunately, mistrust to producers is a widespread phenomenon. Though we are sure that only counterfeit products may contain frank lies on the label. As for lawful products, the legislation meticulously regulates (and relevant bodies control) the completeness, reliability and ways of the information statement on the label.

Therefore, please, carefully read the formulation before deciding.

Best of health.

Internet question

16.07.2012

Why does the Artezianska water have such a short shelf life?

Director Grygorii Ushakov

Dear correspondent!
In fact, the Karavan Artezianska water may be stored for 6 months under standard conditions (up to 20°C and absence of sunlight). Nevertheless, it is quite difficult to maintain such conditions during transportation of the product, its storage in the distributors’ warehouses and in shop storage premises. Therefore, we artificially limited the shelf life to 2 months for to eliminate the risks of change of the product’s properties under actual conditions. It considerably complicates the work of logistic structures but ensures receipt by the customer of the product with its initial properties unaffected.

Internet question

29.02.2012

Andriy
Why do your beverages look so primitive? The bottle is not original, the label is cheap and pale. They are tasty but because of their cheap appearance people are less eager to buy them. And where is the guarantee that their quality is sufficient for children to drink them? I am sure that your children do not drink them at all, and you drink them only in case of necessity. The fact that you produce them for yourselves and your children is utter mockery.

Director Grygorii Ushakov

Thank you for your sincere, concerned and outspoken opinion. We will try to comment on everything in order:

• As for the bottle design. The bottle isn’t really exquisite. Though, recently, when all producers started changing the design and arranging the «waist» (the narrowed place for a label), our products stood out from the majority. Look for yourself…

• As for the label design. You are right, the old label required updating. We have been engaged in the solution of this matter for some months now. The emergence of the Karavan beverages with a new transparent label on the shelves is the result of our work. We hope that our customers like it. We will be grateful for your comments.

• Now, as for the quality of the beverage itself. The guarantee of the fact that the Karavan beverages may be consumed by children is the absence of preservatives, synthetic substitutes of sugar, artificial aromatic substances and artificial colouring agents in them. You may get proof to that by addressing the nearest Centre of Standardization, Metrology, and Certification or to the Consumer Protection Department which may conduct independent research of our products and provide a competent conclusion. You may check it yourself by visiting our enterprise and seeing the product manufacturing process with your own eyes. We invite you (you may find the contact information under the Contacts tab at our web-site).

• Do we consume our products? Yes, we do. Firstly, because we know that they may be consumed. Secondly, in our opinion, the consumption of our own product is the best (and the cheapest) marketing strategy. There is no need to procure expensive research, and we, as consumers, have a comprehensive understanding of what beverage we need. Owing to this exact strategy our beverages acquired natural components and got preservatives-free.

Question

20.12.2011

What kind of water is used for the beverages of the Karavan trademark?

Director Grygorii Ushakov

Our water has been extracted from artesian boreholes No. 8, No. 9, No. 9r since 2007. The boreholes are in the area of Mykhailivske forestry of the state Vinnytske forestry entity (see orbital survey).

After water treatment, which doesn’t change its mineral structure, our water, falling into the category of natural drinking low-mineralized hydrocarbonate calcium-magnesium waters, is used for manufacture. Simply put, this structure is suitable for daily use as drinking water.

Question

01.12.2011

How are the artesian boreholes protected from «hypodermic», ground waters, particularly after rainfalls?

Director Grygorii Ushakov

Unlike a deep well, an artesian borehole is a complex hydrotechnical construction. In nature, water-bearing horizons don’t blend as it is prevented by clay and kaolin beddings. The phenomenon of blending may occur only because of the man-triggered reasons when the direct way of ground waters flow to deeper layers of underground water bedding is created. Industrial drilling technologies eliminate the contact of ground waters with water-bearing horizons through laying of upsetting (protective) sanitary pipes and hermetic concreting thereof. The regular external control of the artesian water quality is exercised by the laboratories of PivnichHeolohiia PSRGE and the Regional Sanitary and Epidemiologic Service. These organizations carry out systematic expanded microbiological and chemical analyses on micro and macrocomponents. The originals of the results of these analyses are archived which allows tracing the quality of the artesian water for any period.

Question

21.10.2011

In the Soviet period beverages without preservatives had the shelf-life of 7 days. Is it possible for beverages without preservatives to have the shelf-life of 60 days?

Chief Technologist Halina Treyko

Indeed, if a housewife makes compote, its storage life (in the refrigerator) may last for several days. If she hermetically seals this compote in the jar in sterile conditions, it is stored for several months.

Likewise, the beverages bottled under common conditions without preservatives are stored for 7 days. To prolong storage life, manufacturers add preservatives. The most widespread of them is sodium benzoate which depresses and prevents the development of microorganisms in food products and allows storing beverages for several months.

Understanding the undesirability, to put it mildly, of preservatives in food products, we have created the conditions, when preservatives are not necessary. The containers and the beverage components are sterilized and within the bottling process contact only purified air. This opportunity emerged with the establishment of the «Ultra Clean» pouring technology according to which beverages contact only purified air and the sterilized containers.

Thus, since 2008 we have excluded the preservative (sodium benzoate) from our products.